Give a Little Get a Lot

Welcome readers to my last blog post of this class! I am both sad and excited for this post. Like always we will look into the give and take relationship of technology in the classroom.

                                            “Give a Little Get a Lot”

When I think about technology in the classroom I find it compares to relationships in our lives. How you might ask? Well think of someone who you often go to for assistance in your life. You value this person, and it’s evident by how many times you visit them for help. But with every relationship this relationship between you and your helper is a thriving relationship because in some way somehow you are giving back to them. This type of give and take relationship is healthy and as far fetch as it seems this relationship exists in technology too. No I’m not saying you have to call your computer every night before you go to bed and tell it you love it. But what I am saying is that you have to be willing to give the time, effort, and space in your classroom to be a healthy functioning device in your life.

Time is important with all things. However if you invest it wisely in the learning about the internet technology you could use in your classroom then you and your students benefit from it. Likewise effort has to be made to understand the extent and limits to the internet technology you are using. If you know the limits to the technology then you can better guide your students. Lastly you have to be willing to make space for internet technology in your class. You have to be a bit creative with this. Making up lessons that combine with internet searches or projects that require online assignments are a must to fully integrate such technology.

On a personal note, main concern I have with integrating internet technology is how quickly I can become frustrated with operating such technologies. I believe I have even expressed this feeling in some of my earlier posts. But I know I am determined. I often challenge myself to do things I don’t want to do. Learning patience with technology is one of those things. However that how I plan to compensate for my frustration to have patience, and to be willing to put in the time, effort, and integration needed to make my classroom technology savvy.  

-Katelyn Hammons

Help Michelangelo

Introduction

Michelangelo Buonarrotie (1475-1564) is a famous sculptor and painter who lived a very long time ago. He has created many famous works of art but one of his most famous works is his paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He started painting on July 1508 and didn’t finish until four years later on October 1512. Although he did all the sketches or cartoons himself. He did have help mixing paint. additionally sometimes very skilled artists even got to paint some of his drawings for him!

Artists are you ready to travel back in time and see if you can help out Michelangelo?

 

Welcome to the year 1508!

Click the link to hear Michelangelo speak.

 http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=9901710&height=267&width=200

Teacher check point!

 Come see me to get your color mixing chart.

Task #1

Write the name of each color in the lines below the boxes and fill the box in with that color. The first two boxes should be the colors that combined make the third box.

______________+____________= Green

______________+____________= Brown

______________+____________= Purple

 ______________+____________= Pink

______________+____________= Orange

Click the link to hear Michelangelo!

  http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=9901749&height=267&width=200

Teacher check point.

Come see me to get Michelangelo’s drawings.

Task #2
Each team member may choose which drawing they want to paint.
Items you will need to complete this step.
• Michelangelo’s drawings
• Your mixed paint and primary color paint
• Brushes and water
 
Task #3


After all the paintings have been painted assemble them into a design that might be seen on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel.

Items you will need for this step:
• Glue
• Mat board
• Scissors

Click the link to hear Michelangelo speak one last time.
 http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=9901755&height=267&width=200


Grading rubric
All students will be graded based on,
Quality of the colors they have mixed.
• Do they resemble the color they were asked to mix.
• Are the colors consistent

Following Michangelo’s drawings
• Did the student stay within the lines
• Is the painting neat
• Did the student put forth effort in the painting

Presentation of paintings
• Clean of excess glue
• Thoughtfully assembled
• Work as a team to decide the overall design

Acting Through Technical Difficulties

Hello readers! I hope you are all well.

            Once again we are going to look into the script of what it’s like to be a teacher in the 21st century. We’re on the set so let’s get to it!

            Hair, makeup, and lines rehearsed teachers walk into their classrooms everyday ready to teach, ready to not just “perform” but to actually “form” something in the minds of their students.  However in the 21st century it’s not just about your charisma, or how well you speak. Sure those things are important in the qualities of a teacher, but you also must be aware of the technology at your grasp. A teacher of the 21st century must know how to use such technology effectively. Like an actor performing Hamlet with Shakespeare’s unique way of writing it too is important for a teacher to flawlessly make technology bend to his/hers will.

            Some tools that I feel I can bend at my will are power point, garage band (for pod casts), publisher, word, projectors, and blogs. Yet there are still some skills that I feel I am lacking in. for instance I feel like windows 8 operating system  is a script handed to me on set that is written in an entirely different language and we are shooting the scene in five minutes! Also using macs are equally as stressing.

            So to overcome my stressing problems with these two operating systems I created an action plan. Lights, camera, action!

·         The first thing on my action plan is to ask for help from my friends and family who are more familiar with these systems.

·         Second I can as questions on the internet.

·         Third I can practice my new skills until I feel comfortable.

I find that first talking to real people one on one is the best way to learn! With this action plan ill be a star at these operating systems in no time!

Talk to you all soon!

Katelyn Hammons.

Ed vs. Tech

Hello again readers! Once again we are going to look deeper into the battle of Education vs. Technology!  

Ed vs. Tech

In the first corner we find Ed. Ed is no stranger to the ring tonight as we see that his feet are firmly planted on familiar ground. Ed is robustly focused with a stern glair targeted at his competitor across from him. For years Ed has been recognized as a symbol for the traditional rout for young people to take in order to gain success in the world. In the second corner we find Tech. Tech can't quite seem to get used to all the crowds of people in the stadium, but tries his best to focus in on the upcoming fight. He’s a young and agile frame, whose quick growth to success has the crowd in mix emotions.

The ref enters the ring and makes both Ed and Tech bump gloves, then he speaks to both of the boxers about all the rules and regulations that consist of a “good clean fight”. The crown hushes as the two competitors are dismissed to their own corners of the boxing ring. Just then as if no one expected that the time would finally come the bell rrRRRInGS, and both boxers come hustling out of their corners! They eagerly come close, neither one afraid of the other. Both men take a swing at each other and….

Wait, do these two actually have to fight? Do they have to be competitors?

Personally I would like to think that they didn’t have too. But some people feel otherwise. Sometimes these opinions can be based on how well prepared one feels in the 21^st century to be a teacher or even a student for that matter. In the 21^st century I find myself feeling well prepared as a student when it comes to technology. Especially since I have the help of my instructors to push me back into the ring like the spring of the ring rope whenever they answer one of my technology questions. However when it comes to teaching I feel a bit on edge. I think that these emotions are mostly  due to my inexperience in actually taking charge of a classroom full of students. Personally as of right now, I feel like a brand new coach with a fighter I didn’t get the chance to train on my own. So not only am I learning my boxer, a.k.a technology, but also learning how to instruct him in a fight, a.k.a teaching it a classroom.

             I attribute my comfort with technology as a student to my years spent as a high school student. I was home schooled and all of my classes and homework, as well as projects were online or through our educational computer program. I know many other people who feel thoroughly prepared for the 21^st century due to their years of technical experience in high school as well. I feel that it’s becoming more common with high school graduates to feel like they are equipped for success with technology in the 21^st century.

            I think as I enter the ring of the 21^st century with technology that I have both strengths and challenges in being a teacher and student. My strengths are, that I never give up. im not afraid to ask for help and find someone to help me. But most of all that once I find the answer or if I already have the technical knowledge, I try my best to share it.  Some of my challenges are that I sometimes think I know what I’m doing but I don’t. Additionally like all artists, I like to day dream which makes me miss out on important details.

Overall we all have strengths and weaknesses about us as we live in the 21^st century. But the question within how we act as teachers and students when it comes to technology remains a personal fight in a boxing ring only you can control.

Peace my friendly readers,

Katelyn Hammons.

Technology in the classroom

Hello readers and welcome to my Blog Techno Teacher. I left “in training” in the title because I am still studying to be a teacher At Evangel University. I am currently enrolled in my fourth semester and entering my senior year. You my dear reader you have found me while I am immersed in an Education Technical course where we explore the many vast wonders of technology and how it can be used as a tool to help further the education of our students.

Won’t you join me as I continue on in this journey?

The first subject amongst the carefully entangled wires of our relationship with technology is that of a personal matter. How Fearful am I of Technology. To answer this I should explain a little more about myself. I am a functional geek within our widely diverse society. Yes I’m serious. I even actually just got back from having dinner with my group of friends at our local McDonalds. Where we were all dressed as the characters from Lord of the Rings. Hey don’t laugh, we got free hot fudge Sundays out of it, and made a lot of little kids happy. Back to the point. To be more specific I am knowledgeable about geek world technological equipment. Anything from the deep space of the Tardis, to the dysfunctional function of the Navicomputer on the Millennium Falcon, I can tell you how and if they work. But when it comes to real world technical equipment I find it less fantastical. Sure I can access the internet, and use most common tools for school such as, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Movie Maker, Etc. but when it comes to virus protection or operating a projector I just about die, let alone trying to figure out a smart board. After deeper contemplation of these maters I lost my “Bad feeling” about it, “Sorry for the star wars joke” and realized that my fears with these common tools were due to my lack of practice with such items. The only way to overcome these fears were to be able to practice with these tools more.

Then that got me thinking more, do our students also have fears with technology based on the fact that they too haven’t yet had the chance to practice with the correct equipment? I am almost positive they do. However there are possible barriers in our school systems that could hinder their chances at overcoming these fears. The biggest thing that stands in our student’s way is the lack of funding in some school to have such equipment to use. Let’s face it, if the equipment is not available then it is neither understood nor conquered.  Another barrier is the lack of technically educated educators. The rise of user friendly technology seemed to sprout out of the frost soaked 90’s and eagerly stretched its circuit board peddles to the rise of the soft spring sun of the 20th century. Quickly leaving many great educators out of the loop. They now had classes full of students born to this technological life style, who were quick to adapt and always looking for the new trend with technology. Yet they found themselves struggling. Of course like all educators we never stop learning, and many teachers proved this by taking courses and spending the time needed to acquire the knowledge they needed to operate such equipment.

Like those teachers from the time before technology was a hand held device, I too want to learn and adapt. My personal goals for this course is to not be afraid of something that sounds too different, or less fantastical. To strive to do my best for the future of my students, and to boldly go where several teachers have gone before, BUT now I too get to go.

Peace my friendly readers,

Katelyn Hammons.